


Hanging On

by marvelandimagine



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Injury, Post-Battle, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-12 06:58:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5656975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelandimagine/pseuds/marvelandimagine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pietro x Reader. Reader shields Pietro from a barrage of bullets in a battle on top of Avengers tower. The bullets are laced with a poison that is making it harder to fight to stay alive and Pietro is helpless to do anything. All ends up well, though!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hanging On

It was like the world had turned into slow motion. You heard Pietro’s clear scream, the rest of the team fighting off Chitauri soldiers, and you felt each bullet hit you before you could even process the gravity of what you had just done in your effort to protect the blond Sokovian who you had grown to call your best friend. You had been shot before, but this was something new entirely. Where the bullets had entered the flesh, you felt fiery, bubbling pain coursing throughout your veins. It felt like your blood had turned to acid.

Before you could even scream in response, you felt yourself staggering uncontrollably back from the impact, your footing shaky on the precipice on the edge of the tower roof. You saw a familiar streak of blue coming toward you, but not fast enough before your limp body fell backwards and into the air.

Through a haze of fear and pain and confusion, all you could think of was the sight of Pietro’s horrified face.

“I’m sorry, Piet,” was all you thought.

Fading into unconsciousness, you were surprised when a pair of strong metal arms wrapped around you, a much different sensation then you had been expecting as you hurtled helplessly toward the earth.

The world was red and you faded into black.

—————  
“Is she … Is she going to die?”

You heard a choked, accented voice as you fought through the heavy fog now clouding your brain.

“No, Pietro, I’m right here. I’m alive!” You tried to speak but you couldn’t seem to.

A new, softer voice entered. You recognized it as Bruce.

“We’re trying everything, Pietro, but whatever those bullets were laced with is rejecting any possible antidotes we give her. It doesn’t matter that we got them out; the poison is still in her blood. But she has held up this far; that’s an incredible thing.”

“I should’ve got her out of the way. I have all the speed in the fucking world and I still let this happen.”

A strong female voice, also accented.

“Pietro, stop. It is not your fault.”

The helpless tone in Pietro’s voice had your eyes blink open. You briefly took in Bruce, Pietro, Wanda and Tony looking at you in surprise before you felt your heart accelerate in fear as you looked at your hands, only to see jagged black lines all over your skin. It looked like someone had replaced your blood with ink from a pen that just exploded.

You started hyperventilating, panicking even more as the mask on your face made your shallow breath echo even more inside your head. Bruce quickly pulled off the mask to let the natural oxygen in your lungs as you wheezed. “Piet,” you gasped out. “Not your fault.”

“Of course it isn’t,” Tony said in a surprisingly nice tone.

Pietro was at your side in a second, his lips grazing your forehead. “Y/N,” he said weakly. “I was so scared … I thought you were gone.”

You gave a small smile at him. “Gonna take a lot more to put me in the ground.” You started coughing violently as Pietro’s eyes widened in fear. Bruce held your head up as you spat out blood into a bowl. Your throat felt raw, like someone had scraped at it with a knife.

Bruce murmured quietly, as if he read your mind “You were screaming for awhile when we first got you in. Taking the bullets out helped to lessen the pain, but it was pretty touch and go for awhile.”

He shifted you up slightly, his voice going even quieter so you were the only one who could hear. “Pietro was a mess. Wanda had to take him outside to calm him down.”

Your gaze flickered briefly to your friend, noticing that his bright blue eyes were quite red. You felt a different kind of tenderness toward him unlike anything you had felt before. You knew you loved him, you told yourself as a friend, but who knew where things could go? You just didn’t want to ruin being friends.

A sudden spasm in your arm snapped you back to the present, your face contorting in shock and pain as another jagged line appeared on your skin. “What’s doing this to me?” you asked, your voice going up a notch.

Bruce ran a hand through his hair. “We don’t know exactly,” he said regretfully. “The bullets were coated with some sort of poison, but it’s not derived from any compounds on Earth. None of the antidotes are working right to get it out … But the pain has gone down, right?”

You nodded but looked at the lines on your body. “I feel different,” you said slowly. “Heavier.”

Bruce gave a sad smile. “That’s the poison bonding to your cells. Honestly, you shouldn’t have made it this long with the barrage on your nervous system… It’s like something in you won’t let it finish the job.”

You looked at Bruce incredulously. Pietro moved toward you and smoothed your hair back. “It doesn’t matter what it is. What matters is that you’re here.” You reached for his hand and stroked it gently, your heartbeat speeding up not with fear, but with affection, as he smiled at you. In the back of your mind, however, you were trying to figure out what was keeping you alive.

“I didn’t want to leave Piet,” you thought slowly. “If I was willing to die for him, maybe I was willing to fight to get back to him.”

Bruce, Wanda and Tony exchanged looks. “Bruce, you need rest. Pietro can get you if she needs help,” Wanda said firmly.

Tony smirked. “Yeah, he’ll be able to take care of her. Undivided attention.”

Bruce smiled knowingly and looked at you. “Button on the side. Just hit it if you need anything.”

You smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Bruce.”

The three of them exited and you looked at Pietro. “Can you come in here with me?” You said shyly as you patted the bed. “You’ll help keep me sitting up so I can breathe right if I fall asleep,” you added hurriedly.

Pietro’s gaze softened as he nodded, shifting you delicately to the far edge of the bed so he could climb in. He wrapped an arm around your lower back, drawing you to him and you laid your head on his shoulder, the throbbing pain in your body more bearable as he played with your hair.

“Get some sleep, princessa,” he murmured thickly. You readjusted your head in his shoulder, his stubble grazing your cheek. You felt him tense and relax, and you tried your luck as you slowly moved a hand up on his chest to his heart. You smiled slightly as you noticed the pace that matched your own; his hand tentatively moving out to grasp yours.

“Thank you for staying,” you said quietly.

Pietro ran his thumb across your cheek and you looked up at him, his eyes fixed on yours. “Always,” he murmured.

Maybe it was the poison loosening your judgment, but somehow your lips were now moving toward his and his eyes were closing and when your lips touched, you felt a different kind of fire heating your body.

You broke apart feeling slightly dazed. “I really hope I’m not looped up on drugs and this actually happened,” you said with a small laugh.

Pietro gazed at you adoringly with a smile. “It can happen as much as you like, beautiful.”

You placed your head back on his shoulder and his arm hooked around your waist. “I’ll take you up on that in the morning,” you muttered, dizzy and overwhelmed by the day’s events but confronted in the knowledge that no matter what, you knew your best friend would be there.


End file.
